Chapter 2

Woozily, Rhapsody grappled with consciousness. She fought her way to awareness to find herself restrained in some rickety enclosed wagon, bouncing down some unknown path. The air within was stifling.

On attempting to move she found that her wrists were shackled behind her back and there were shackles on her ankles as well. These were connected by a chain that looped through an iron ring bolted to the floor of the wagon. A scarf was tied around her head and was stuffed in her mouth, acting as a gag. Someone didn't want her going anywhere or alerting anyone of her presence.

She tried to run through all the events that brought her to this spot, but nothing seemed to add up. First she was singing her aubades and then out of nowhere men were bearing down on her. A strange vibrational music hummed around her and she found it difficult to focus on her attackers. It was as if they were not there, yet they still were. At the same time silence completely descended on her as she drew Daystar Clarion. Its normal Clarion call was gone and so was all the sound around her.

"It had to have been a Namer," she thought. "But what Namer would do something like this?"

Suddenly the wagon came to a halt and sounds of movement were heard outside. Murmured voices sounded outside as keys were rattled. Dim moonlight brushed her face as the door to the wagon was opened. A man shaped shadow stepped into the light, blocking her brief view of the stars outside.

"Well, Rhapsody, good, you're awake," the shadow murmured. "It is so nice to see you again. It really has been too long."

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Achmed had left so quickly he never really thought about what he could possibly do for Rhapsody. He was racing across the Kravensfield plain before thought actually caught up with him. He couldn't remember the last time that he had acted like this before thinking it out. He always analyzed and planed everything before going into it. Now he found himself racing to Rhapsody's rescue without ever thinking how he was actually going to help her, or how he was to get her away from twenty plus skilled fighters and possibly a very adept Namer.

These thoughts suddenly hit the Dharcian with crushing force. He reined in his lathered horse and pondered what he was up against for the first time.

There was no way that he could take on these captors on his own, that was obvious. But anyone he took he would somehow have to explain how it was he was tracking her. Anyone who already knew about his abilities was either guarding something more important, captured, or across the ocean on that bloody sea mage island. Same goes for anyone that he would actually trust with this information. He needed at least one helper, but there was no one left that he could trust.

Then it hit him; there was one other left that he could trust, Duke Gwydion. He loved Rhapsody as a second mother and was as trustworthy as they come. And not only could Achmed trust him, but he brought with him the elemental power of the wind because of his tie to the sword, Tysterisk. He would be perfect, and he was on the way.

With at least that part of his rescue sorted out he spurred his tired horse into gallop once again.